Hello my lovely readers! Welcome to Chapter 20! I've been avoiding Nym and Marceline for long enough, I simply must write them in. I feel like I've spent far too much time developing Lixella and Draco's relationship, but, oh well, this is a work in progress after all!
anyhow thank you to xXMizz Alec VolutriXx (I've been spelling your name wrong this whole time *slaps myself*
also to indigofrisbee, and DizzyPotter...for thier reviews, i will respond at the end of the chapter!
And, a special thanks to alissimorangerocks, and MahoganyFelicis66 for favoriting me and my story!
Enjoy!
Our Time Is Running Out
Parchment 20: Going Soft
The large stain glass windows went racing past her. Each of them pouring out a thin layer of afternoon sun. the wind whipped by her face, as did the sounds and bustling of the busy hallway. She was holding tight to the hand of her best friend, Nym Muse. She had been running for a while now, but didn't know where they were going.
"They're singing" said Nym, peering back as they sped across the second floor of Lunareth. "It's up in the planetarium, you have to see…I can't believe he got it to work."
Lixella did not question her. She had learned, long ago, to just go along with whatever crazy adventure Nym had made up in her head.
They stopped at a large tower. Inside of the tower, two staircases, made of iron, circled around each other, moving like a double helix. They both stepped onto a platform, and were lifted up by the moving stairs, to the top of the tower.
At the top was a large open area, covered by a glass dome, that sparkled brilliantly in the sun. At night, there were carvings on the glass that would glow and connect the passing stars above. But, at this time of day, it was just a sky view of the Lunareth school grounds.
Nym dragged Lixella over to the northern side of the dome. She pointed into the distance, there gliding above the school, were two phoenix birds. They were whimsically streaming around one another, singing a lovely tune. It sounded like a lullaby, being sung by a single whistling flute.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Nym asked, gazing at the two birds.
Just as Lixella went to answer, the floor collapsed form under her. She was falling, watching the crystal dome become smaller. She winced as white light began to surround her.
When her eyes adjusted, she found herself standing in a muggle dentist office. She stood behind the receptionist at the desk. Upon looking to the left, she saw a little girl with frazzled hair, holding the hand of an older lady in a dentist uniform. Lixella turned the corner to follow them, and walked through the office doorway, only to find a large room full of strange pictures. It was a stone tower with a humble spiraling staircase, and a kitchen. A witch with pale yellow hair was madly pouring ingredients into a large cauldron. Every now and then, she would sniff the cauldron, eyeing it with great intent. Then, she reached for some kind of dark liquid, upon pouring it in, the cauldron exploded. Lixella flew backwards from the explosion, and landed on soggy dirt.
She lifted herself to her elbows, and peered around. She sat in a dense forest, full of thick trees. It smelled of honey suckle and pond water. She heard laughing in the distance, and moved towards it. Two kids were running around a clearing, ducking and hiding from each other. They would peek out of the tall grass every so often, and throw acorns or sticks towards the other.
"hahaha…you'll never defeat me, stupid sissy girl!" yelled the small boy as he climbed atop a hill. "Where are you, come out and fight me?" he yelled. Then, a small acorn hit him in the back of the head. "Ouch!" he screamed.
"Yargh!" a small girl leapt out from behind a bush, and pushed him down the hill and into a mud puddle. She then removed a stick from the ground and held it up triumphantly. "My name is Lixella, and I am conqueror of this hill! Bow down to me, peasant, for you have lost!"
"No fair, you attacked from behind…I can't see that" said the boy.
"Duh, that's kind of the point. Gosh , Draco, don't you understand how to play war?"
Lixella watched as little Draco began flinging mud at her childhood self. She began laughing, she was happy to have recovered this memory.
"The inner eye…" shouted a voice from the distance, and Lixella began shooting backwards.
She landed in her chair, not realizing that she had been hobbling backwards the whole time, and fell to the ground with a "thud". Jynx began laughing hysterically, and Lixella looked around to find herself back in divination class. They had been staring into a crystal ball for the past few minutes, trying to travel to a vision in the past. She took a deep breath in, and got up from the ground, pushing her chair back into her table.
"You alright?" asked Luna, "I could've sworn I saw you in my memory for a second. It isn't good to do that, you can pick up nasty Wrackspurts along the way."
"Fine.." said Lixella, sitting down, "what's the professor on about?"
"You had a vision, Lixella?" asked professor Trelawny, her eyes magnified behind her large spectacles.
"Yes, actually, several" she answered, "of places I've never seen!"
"Ah!" shouted the professor, "that brings us to our next lesson, vision traveling. A complicated and complex task. I'll save that for later though, some of you seem to have fallen asleep from your gazing. Class dismissed!"
Later that night, at dinner, Lixella relayed her journey through people's memories, to the rest of the table.
"My mom" said Luna, "that was her with the exploding cauldron, the day she died. It was one that I was thinking of during class. That's interesting, I didn't know you could hop through other people's memories."
"Sounds to me like you may have taken a trip into Hermione's head too!" said Neville, "her parent's are dentists in the muggle world."
"So, even as a kid, ya were beatin up on Draco?" Jynx questioned, "pushing him down a hill, flickin' acorns. I wish I'd known ya back then! Ya seemed great!"
"Jynx, I just want to know, why do you hate him so much?" asked Lixella, "I mean besides the obvious being an asshole to everyone around him. You seem to be almost as bitter as Hermione."
"Yeah, I am" she said, "When I first joined in Slytherin we didn't pay much attention to each other. It weren't until everyone's first visit ta Hogsmeade, tha' he really go ta me. Ya see, I didn' really get anyone in the Slytherin dorm, I was friends with people from other houses. Fer some reason, on this day, he decided to point out somethin' about my friend Ariel. She used ta be in Slytherin, but was taken out of school afta' she was attacked by a plant in Herbology. I missed her, and Draco decided ta make some snarky comment about how she was attacked for being friends with a blood traitah. So, I did wha' I do best, I punched him in his little greasy face. Ever since then, he's been afraid of me, an' so has the res' o' slytherin…prolly why you're the only one who talks to me."
"What a jack ass!" sighed Lixella, as she massaged her temples. It was stories like these that made her question why she was in love with him. All she ever heard, from anyone, were things about how he was such an insufferable prick. She didn't blame them for disliking him, he put off a terrible personality towards people who weren't in his circle. He wasn't like that all the time though, and Lixella knew, all too well, why he wasn't. He had just gone his whole life, striving for the approval of others, being told that there was only one way to achieve it. He was told that, he only needed the approval from certain people, and no one else mattered. In order to get it, he would have to act like the type of person that only that one group of people would like, an asshole.
Growing up in high society did this to people often, Lixella would watch her mother and father change before her eyes, every time they attended some high class social event. It sickened her, that there were people in her life that changed themselves for others. Lixella wasn't innocent of this either, she changed in front of her aunt and uncle, her friends, and especially in front of Voldemort. She sat there, listening to the conversation, and thinking about Nym.
Then, Illunia landed in front of her, grasping two letters in her claws. Lixella removed them, petted her owl, and Illunia flew off. She unraveled the first one, it was a message from Nym.
Dear Lixella,
I know we haven't talked all year, but I have such wonderfully dreadful news. I have finally achieved our plans of crushing Mickey to the ground. In November, I set up a trap for him. It consisted of making him my partner in a "project" for our potions class. I had him help me brew a very complicated poly-juice potion. I told him that it was a potion for good luck, being the dimwit he is, he believed me. Upon finishing the brew, I told him to try some. His face turned scaly and blue as he transformed into a merman.
The school found the whole thing a scandal, and instantly put me on the top of the list as the school prankster. I got detention for several weeks, but it was worth it, because he remained in that state for a good 5 days. I was required to apologize to him, and help Dr. Waverly brew him a cure.
However, Lixella, I am sad to report that, within the week I spent curing him, we actually began talking. I, at this moment, do apologize wholeheartedly to you, my very best friend. I have done something unforgivable. I, Nym Muse, am dating Mickey Mageling. The worst part is, I am very happy to be with him.
Please Lixella, I am begging you to not hate me, he's really a lot better of a person than he shows. I wish you could meet the real him, the one that I like so much.
I hope to hear from you soon, and I hope that you'll still accept me as your friend.
Sincerely,
Nym Muse
(The girl who gave in)
Lixella chuckled, she was anxious to reply to this letter. She was also happy that she wasn't the only girl who was in love with a two faced boy. She then picked up the other letter, that was bound in a blue envelope, and opened it.
Dear Lixella,
I know that we haven't spoken in years. But, it has come to my attention that you are now aware of our family's past. I am now ready to let you into the family room. I cannot wait to see you again. You must have grown into a lovely young woman, just like my sister, your mother. I know that you are in school right now, so this will all have to wait until your school year is done. Please, write me when you are finished with classes, and I will arrange to take you back to the Duskwood Estate. I am so very happy that you have finally found the banshees, and met them, they are the whole reason that you are alive.
I love you very much, and can't wait to see you!
Sincerely,
Your Aunt Marceline
"Finally, a letter from my aunt" she said
"Really, is she gonna' let ya into tha' room?"Jynx said, snatching the letter from her hand.
"Yes, at the end of the school year. I'll be able to go home for a bit, too. Thank goodness, I really do miss it there."
"Going home is always lovely" said Luna, as she gazed into her glass, "it can be a bit overwhelming though."
"Yeah, especially with my Gran'" said Neville, "sometimes I think that she's just loony!"
They all burst into laughter. Jynx spat her drink out. She'd managed to turn around, so as to avoid showering Lixella, but in her attempts, she showered someone else. Blaise Zabini sat with his back to their table, directly behind Jynx. Upon being spat on, he turned several shades of red, and darted around.
"Who did that?" he shouted. Jynx tried very hard to keep her laughter down, so did the rest of them. "Who spat on me?" he shouted, "Was it you Parkinson?" he asked to Pansy who was sitting a few feet from them with one of her friends. Upon hearing this accusation, Lixella and Jynx broke out into uncontrollable laughter.
"Yeah, Parkinson…stop spittin' on people!" yelled Jynx.
"Oh, shut up Spakerton, I know that it was you who did it!" she shouted
Blaise turned to her, his eyes filled with rage. Jynx turned around, trying to keep her laughter in. She stood up, and extended a hand to him.
"Sorry 'bout that, Zabini" she said.
Blaise didn't take apologies well, instead he grabbed his drink cup, took a sip, and spat it out on her. He smirked as she wiped the water off of her face. She looked at him, formed a fist, and punched him hard in the jaw. The whole corner of the room, which also consisted of Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, sat for a few seconds, waiting for someone to make a move. Then, Blaise got up off of the floor, and smacked Jynx on her right cheek. Lixella and Draco both stood up instantly, darted across the table, and tried to hold back their friends. Lixella was, sadly, not strong enough to force Jynx backwards, and ended up falling to the floor. Draco was only able to hold Blaise off for a second, before he ended up on the ground as well. The two of them then proceeded to remove their wands and have a duel.
This went on for only 2 minutes, before Professors McGonnagal and Snape broke them up.
"20 points from Slytherin!" shouted McGonnagal, as she forced them apart. Snape proceeded to drag the two of them, by their collars, to his office.
"You two" McGonnagal pointed to Draco and Lixella, "I can't believe I am saying this, but thank you for trying to stop it. However, should a fight ensue again, I wouldn't advise you to get in the middle of it. Back to your houses, everyone, it's nearly nightfall."
The kids in the great hall began bustling out the door. Ron Weasley, who was across the room, inhaled one more pork chop before getting up to leave. Lixella nodded to Neville and Luna as they walked off, she didn't want to get up just yet. She leaned back on the bench, and closed her eyes, wondering why Jynx was stupid enough to start a fight.
"You're friend's got quite a temper" said Draco
"Yeah…and yours doesn't?" she questioned
"No…he wouldn't have gone off if she hadn't spat on him."
"Well, you can consider us even then…"
He looked at her in confusion
"Because now, both of our close friends have been spat on by someone they don't like. Or have you forgotten about the time you let Pansy off of her leash?"
He laughed, and shook his head, "It's really funny that you hate her so much."
"It's really funny that you're friends with her! Honestly Draco, you have strange choices in friends."
"And you don't?" he questioned, "I mean really, Lixella…Looney Lovegood, Longbottom, Weasle-bee, that mu-"
"don't say it, Draco!" she shouted.
"fine…Granger, and let's not forget…Potter!" he looked over to her with disgust, "I heard you two had a nice little chat the other day. I was told that you, somehow, scared him off."
Lixella looked towards the ground, remembering her last run in with Harry, when he questioned her about being a death eater.
"Now, is there a reason he won't talk to you, anymore?" Draco asked, "or, are you finally picking the right side?"
She glared at him, "he asked to see my left arm, if you must know"
"Shit…" he cursed, "you didn't show it to him did you?"
Lixella just got up, and headed out of the great hall. Draco followed close behind her.
"You did?" he said in shock. She shook her head, "you didn't? well, what happened then?"
"I told him to piss off" she said, turning a corner sharply, "said he shouldn't suspect me, just because I'm a pure-blooded Slytherin."
"Damn, I didn't think you had it in you, telling Potter to piss off. So did he?"
"It made him shut up long enough, so that I could march back down the stairs. I think I might have scared him. You should've seen him, he looked at me like I was some kind of twisted monster"
Draco wasn't listening, he was just staring into the distance, imagining what the scene must've looked like. To him, Lixella was standing in a corridor, telling Harry that he wasn't worth her time, or anyone's. Then, after she had him whimpering in a corner, she marched away yelling about how great of a guy Draco was, and how Harry should just piss off.
"Marry me?" he asked, still dazed by his imagination.
"What?" Lixella asked in shock. She then proceeded to smack him, "Snap out of it, Draco…Whatever you're thinking, it wasn't like that!"
"You don't have to hit so hard" he mumbled under his breath.
The two of them walked through the entrance to the common room.
"I'm going to wait for Jynx to get back" Lixella said, as she sat down on a nearby couch.
"That's going to take a while" said Draco, and he headed up towards the boys dorm.
Lixella removed her potions book from her bag, and began studying how to brew a polyjuice potion.
About an hour later, Jynx and Blaise stormed through the door, both looking unhappy to be in the presence of the other. Jynx flopped down on a chair next to Lixella.
"Snarky twat.." mumbled Blaise, as he headed up to the boys dormitory.
He practically crashed himself onto his bed, stuffing his face into his pillow.
"What's got you all worked up?" asked Draco, who was sitting across the circle of beds.
"That insufferable woman!" he yelled, flipping over, "I've got detention for a week now, with that hussy!"
Draco said nothing to this, but let out a short laugh.
"What's so funny?" asked Blaise
"You've still got the stain on your shirt"
"ugh!" Blaise groaned and began unbuttoning his shirt
"That's what happens, mate! When you pick a fight with the wrong girl…"
"Who are you, to be judging what girls to fight with?" Blaise asked, "you fight with girls that kick your ass all the time."
"Name one"
"Oh I dunno Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger…Lixella Cruxshade seems to be very good at shutting you up!"
"I said one"
"Speaking of Cruxshade…you've been spending an awful lot of time with her, why?"
"She's uh…helping" said Draco, glancing around, "with my job"
"Really? Helping you? You trust her enough for that? Just yesterday she strung a whole slew of ruddy insults at ya! And, speaking of which, you barely fought back, you goin' soft, Draco? Has she gotten to ya?"
"That's rubbish! Me, going soft? Please, I'd throw myself off of the astronomy tower before giving into Lixella."
"Yeah?" Blaise looked at him in disbelief, "Then why have you started calling her Lixella? You two on a first name basis now?"
"What? No, we aren't"
"Sure, mate" said Blaise as he hopped back into his bed, "If I were you, I'd just admit that I'd fallen for the girl, and pretty hard, from what I can tell."
"Whatever…" Draco mumbled.
He headed for the bathroom, to get ready for bed. He knew that he couldn't possibly tell anyone that he and Lixella had started dating. It had to be kept a secret, but it seemed to be catching on to others. Blaise wasn't the only one, Pansy had started avoiding him too, which he didn't mind. Crabbe had also had a similar conversation with him two days ago. It was getting complicated, keeping the two of them a secret. But, he had a reputation to uphold, and dating Lixella Cruxshade, wasn't going to help it. However, he was sure that someone would find out soon. He wondered what his friends reaction would be, if they actually figured out that they were dating.
It's over! on to chapter 21...which I think you guys are going to enjoy quite a bit!
indigofrisbee: SURPRISE! and yeah, Harry is pretty suspicious at this point...shh, don't tell XD
DizzyPotter: hehe...they're girls! LOL I tried to imagine crabbe and goyle as girls when I read the book...not a pretty sight!
xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: I will now continue onward...TO VICTORY! and maybe pudding ^_^
Review please, and I'll see you all soon :D